


the world exploded into color, yet all i see is you

by fallingforboys



Series: and the blood of the past turns the white roses red [4]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, McCall Pack, Puppy Pack (Teen Wolf), The Pack figures it out, but Theo and Liam can't seem to, liam loves theo, theo loves liam
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-12
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:06:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28701891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallingforboys/pseuds/fallingforboys
Summary: Mason was the first to figure it out.But he wasn't the only one. Oh, no. The rest of the pack followed in his footsteps, one right after the other.If only Liam and Theo could too.
Relationships: Liam Dunbar/Theo Raeken
Series: and the blood of the past turns the white roses red [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2097741
Comments: 16
Kudos: 120





	the world exploded into color, yet all i see is you

Mason was the first to figure it out. 

He’s known Liam long enough to know him inside and out, and the werewolf didn’t even have to say a word- Mason just knew. 

He noticed the way even when Liam was the most worked up, his rage destroying anything and everything in his way, Theo could bring him back. Back to reality, back to _him_. 

So, Mason knew that Theo was Liam’s anchor. He knew it even before _Liam_ knew.

But, then Mason started noticing other things.

Like the way the werewolf always let his eyes linger on Theo a second too long in pack meetings. Or the way the chimera seemed to drop everything to help Liam, no matter what he was doing. And the way Liam would be _furious_ when Theo got hurt (usually while protecting him) and Theo would be just as furious when Liam was the one who got hurt. 

And oh _. Oh._

Theo would come to pick the teenagers up after school wearing Liam’s lacrosse hoodie. The first time he did, the Puppy Pack had frozen in place, their jaws hanging. Liam had rolled his eyes and said _It’s just a hoodie guys, get over it_. 

Oh, but Mason was _not_ gonna get over it. Because it wasn’t just the hoodie. 

Liam would show up to school wearing one of Theo’s shirts because _I was running late, and it’s the first thing I saw_ or to a pack meeting sporting Theo’s favorite beanie (which to Mason’s knowledge, was like his _baby_ ) saying _I was cold, and Theo wasn’t- stop making a big deal out of this._

And just like how Mason knew Theo was Liam’s anchor, he knew Liam’s feelings towards the chimera were _way_ past just friends. But he kept quiet, because Liam was still in denial- a fact that Mason realized the first time he saw the werewolf get jealous because of Theo. 

It had been a Friday night, and the Puppy Pack (minus Alec and Lori) decided to head over to Sinema. They all met at the entrance of the club, and Mason has a boyfriend, but _holy shit_ , Theo looked good. He was wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt that was small enough to show off his ridiculous muscles (like seriously, was he on steroids or something?). His hair, which had grown out a bit since the war with the hunters, was messed up in that I-didn’t-try-but-I-still-look-good way.

And one look at his best friend confirmed that Liam had also noticed, if the slight red tint to his cheeks was to be trusted. They made their way inside, Brett and Nolan immediately taking off to hit the dance floor. Mason, with his hand intertwined with Corey’s, followed Liam and Theo to the bar. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Theo order drinks from the bartender, who seemed _very_ interested in the chimera. 

The bartender looked around Theo’s age, maybe slightly older, and his eyes were taking the chimera in like he wanted to memorize every inch of him. Mason felt Liam stiffen next to him, and he hid a smirk behind his free hand. 

“I haven’t seen you here before. You new?” The bartender was laying it on _thick_. 

Liam snorted slightly, and muttered under his breath. “What a _great_ pickup line.” 

Mason knew Theo heard the werewolf, but he seemed to ignore him as he continued his conversation. After every sentence the bartender uttered, Liam mocked him quietly, his face twisted in an ugly imitation, until Theo finally broke his ignoring-Liam streak and turned to look at the younger boy quizzingly. Mason decided that anything Theo said now would only set his best friend off even _more_ , so he grabbed Liam’s arm and pulled him over to a dark corner. 

“Dude, what’s up with you?”

Liam let out an angry scoff. “ _Nothing_.”

“Whatever that was back there, wasn’t _nothing_ ,” the human retorted, noticing the way Liam’s eyes had snapped back to Theo as if they were a compass, the chimera the North Star. 

“Just drop it, okay?” Liam sounded resigned, and Mason knew right then that whatever Liam felt for Theo, it was more than just a silly passing crush. But Liam wasn’t ready to talk about it, and Mason didn’t really want to cause him to shift in a crowded club, so he nodded and let it go. _For now_ , he thought. 

Turns out, he didn’t have to do anything. Because months later, Liam and Theo were kissing in a warehouse, oblivious to everything and everyone. 

And Mason just grinned.

__________________________________

Brett and Corey were on the verge of losing their minds. 

There was only so much pining one could watch before it drove them insane. And they had crossed that limit _months_ ago. 

Theo was staring at Liam. _Again_. The werewolf, however, was completely oblivious to the chimera’s unwavering attention, and kept blabbering on about some historical event that they had learned about in class today. Theo’s eyes were glazed over, and his lips were turned up in the softest smile Corey and Brett had ever seen on him. 

Corey couldn’t take this anymore. He locked eyes with Mason, and silently told him to take Liam and leave. His boyfriend immediately got the hint, made up some excuse to take Liam, and hurried through the front door of Brett and Lori’s apartment. It was their usual hangout spot after school- free of parents and everyone else they didn’t want to see. 

Brett had apparently figured out what Corey was doing, because a minute later, Nolan was walking out saying he had to go pick up groceries for his parents. Theo waved him off, busy making himself a cup of coffee in the kitchen (Brett _swore_ that the chimera used that thing more than he did). Lori dragged Alec into her room, her narrowed eyes making it clear that they better tell her everything that happened after. 

Corey and Brett exchanged a heavy glance, and plopped down on the leather chairs in front of the counter where Theo was standing. The older boy seemed to sense that something was wrong, because he put his coffee down and stared back at his two friends. 

“This is an intervention.” Theo’s eyebrows furrowed, perplexed at the tall werewolf’s words. 

“An intervention about what?” the chimera asked slowly, eyes shifting back and forth between the two teenagers in front of him. 

“Liam.” Theo hadn’t expected that- his eyes widened and he took a step back.

“What?” 

“Yeah, _Liam_. The guy you can’t stop staring at. The guy who rambles about history for way longer than should be possible, but you just _smile_ at the entire time,” Corey declared, watching as a flush began to creep up Theo’s neck. 

“There’s nothing going on between me and Liam.”

“But you want there to be.” Brett said bluntly, not one for subtlety. “ _Everyone_ can see it, dude. Except for Liam, but he’s dumb.”

Corey smacked Brett’s arm, and turned back to the other chimera. “What Brett _meant_ to say, is that we know you like Liam,” he stated gently, “And you should talk to him about it.”

Theo snorted, and ran a hand over his face. “Yeah right, _that_ would go well. Hey, Liam, remember me, the person who manipulated you into almost killing your alpha, and then actually _did_ kill your alpha? Yeah, hi, I like you.” Theo was smirking, but the two supernaturals knew that it was just to hide what he was actually feeling. “I’d be kicked out of Beacon Hills faster than I could say sorry.”

“Theo, you know Liam would never do that,” Brett said, and if the older boy was surprised at his uncharacteristically gentle tone, he didn’t show it. “He’s as crazy about you as you are about him.”

Theo gave the werewolf a disbelieving look. “I’m done talking about this,” he announced, and walked out the door, leaving Corey and Brett to stare at the now-closed door. 

“You think they’ll ever pull their heads out of their asses and get their act together?” Brett asked the chimera, his eyes still on the door. 

Corey sighed. “He still thinks he doesn’t deserve Liam. That Liam still thinks he’s the same person he was last year. And _we_ know that’s not true, but Theo’s different.”

Brett contemplated his words for a moment, and nudged Corey playfully. “Wanna start a bet? I’m calling two weeks.”

The chimera rolled his eyes, and two weeks later, he was rolling his eyes again as he dug through his pocket for a twenty. 

Because somehow, Brett had been right. 

And Corey was smiling so wide it hurt as he watched his two friends kiss as if their lives depended on it. 

(Later, Corey found out that Theo had told Brett that he wanted to prank Liam on April Fools’, and Brett had taken a very reliable risk that something would happen because of it. 

Corey made Brett give him back his twenty.)

__________________________________

Melissa had to watch her son and his friends’ strange love lives enough that when the Puppy Pack came to the hospital after Theo got hurt in a fight, she immediately picked up on Liam and Theo’s weird friends-but-we-both-want-more dance. 

Liam was glaring at the chimera, his arms crossed as he watched Melissa patch Theo up. Theo seemed to be aware of the beta’s anger, but kept his head low as if he thought that ignoring the problem would make it go away. 

“Jesus, Theo, how many bullets hit you?” Melissa asked the chimera, shocked.

“It wasn’t that many-”

“Oh, really? It wasn’t _that many_ ? You look like you could be on a Game of Thrones poster,” Liam hissed. “You could have fucking _died._ ”

Theo looked taken aback at the sudden shift in the conversation. “I was just trying to make sure you didn’t get hi-”

“I don’t _need_ you to make sure I don’t get hit. I need you to make sure _you_ don’t get hit,” Liam exclaimed, his claws breaking skin in his clenched fists, and Melissa internally sighed at the mess she was going to have to clean up after. 

The chimera looked angry now. “You’re the acting alpha,” he practically growled, “Scott left you in charge to protect Beacon Hills, and you can’t do that if you’re _dead_.”

Liam growled back in frustration. “I can’t do that if _you’re_ dead either.”

Pin drop silence filled the room. Melissa knew about the whole anchor thing, but she hadn’t expected Liam to _admit_ it. 

“Liam-”

“ _No._ Save it, Theo. I’m too tired to do this right now,” Liam mumbled, and he left the room. Theo’s eyes followed him until he couldn’t anymore. 

“Your healing’s finally kicking in. Liam’s right,” the nurse’s voice seemed to startle Theo out of his thoughts, “You could’ve died. With the amount of bullets and the wolfsbane, your body was minutes away from giving up.”

“I- I didn’t even realize it was that bad,” Theo faltered, “I saw the guns pointed at him, and I just _moved_ without thinking.”

Melissa smiled gently at the chimera. _Oh, the woes of teenage love._

“Talk to him about it,” she advised, “Make him understand. I have a feeling he will.”

Theo looked hesitant, but nodded.

Three months later, when Scott told her that Theo and Liam were finally dating, Melissa smiled. 

And not just because Chris owed her twenty bucks.

__________________________________

Scott McCall was oblivious, he knew that. But not _that_ oblivious. 

He was back in Beacon Hills for the holidays with the rest of the older pack, and had organized a pack party so that everyone could catch up.

Scott knew that things had changed since he left, but he hadn’t expected _this_. 

The pack had just finished eating, and were settling in the living room for a movie night. Scott had been in the kitchen making popcorn for everyone and had walked into the room just to immediately freeze.

Because there were Liam and Theo. _Cuddling_. 

Okay, so it wasn’t exactly cuddling. Liam was sitting on the couch, and Theo was sitting on the floor in front, his body pressed back into the werewolf. The younger boy’s fingers were running through the chimera’s hair, and Theo looked _relaxed_. So, it wasn’t exactly cuddling, but based on what Scott knew about Theo, it was basically cuddling. 

None of the Puppy Pack seemed surprised- they had all glanced at the two boys, smiled secretly, and went back to their various conversations. Stiles and Malia hadn’t seemed to notice yet, but Scott noticed Derek and Lydia both staring at Theo. 

The alpha broke out of his daze, played the movie, and caught Lydia’s eye, tilting his head towards the kitchen. The two told the pack they’d go make more popcorn, and exited quickly. 

“Did you know about that?” Scott asked Lydia once they were out of earshot of the others.

“I had my suspicions. I mean,” the banshee lowered her voice, “Theo’s his anchor. We’ve known that for a while. And Liam has a tendency to fall for his anchors.”

Scott laughed quietly. “I just didn’t expect them to be so _open_ about it. I mean, they never even told us they were dating.”

“They’re not,” Lydia stated bluntly. Scott’s head cocked to one side, lines forming between his brows.

“What?”

“They’re not dating. Liam wouldn’t keep that a secret. My guess is that right now, they both think the other one doesn’t feel the same way about them that they do, and they’re in this awkward we-both-want-more-but-we’re-too-scared-to-say-it phase.” The banshee always had a weird second intuition when it came to love, so Scott accepted her theory without a second guess.

And then he forgot about it, too caught up in his classes and work. Until four months later, when Theo called him up asking for help for a prank.

The next day, Scott was beaming as he watched his beta kiss the tied up chimera. He exchanged a glance with Lydia, who looked just as happy, and he turned back to the two boys, grinning.

Because he was about to be twenty bucks richer.

__________________________________

Theo was _not_ Stiles’s favorite person. Not by a long shot. But if anyone could relate to hopelessly pining over someone, it was Stiles. 

Although Scott thought that Stiles was oblivious to Theo and Liam’s closeness during the holidays, he was anything but. Because he had noticed it _weeks_ ago.

At Thanksgiving. 

The chimera wasn’t overly obvious in his pining, but to Stiles’ trained eye, it was clear that Theo was in love. And that put some things into perspective for the human, because the _old_ Theo would _never_ have wasted his precious time on silly things like love. Theo had changed- and this was the last thing Stiles needed to believe it.

The pack was at the McCall house, lounging around lazily. Liam was talking to Scott about some obscure historical fact, his arms flailing around as he explained, his eyes shining with excitement. 

And Theo? He was just _staring_. Stiles watched as the chimera’s face softened when Liam wasn’t looking at him, but closed up when the werewolf turned back towards him. 

_Oh_ , Stiles realized. He’s _scared_. 

After watching Theo’s face shuffle back and forth a couple more times, Stiles stood up. “I’m gonna go get some more snacks from the store. Theo, help me.” 

The pack all turned to Stiles with incredulous looks. 

“Is this a plan to finally kill me?” Theo asked dryly, but even without supernatural senses, Stiles could tell that he was tense.

“ _No_ ,” Stiles rolled his eyes. “It’s not a plan to kill you. I got over that months ago. Now,” he grabbed the chimera’s arm and pushed him to the door, “ _Let’s go_.”

The ride to the store was awkward, neither one of them saying anything as they listened to the newest pop song play on the radio. 

“Is there something you want?” Theo finally asked as Stiles was parking. 

The human turned off the jeep and looked at Theo. To anyone else, he looked indifferent, his face relaxed as he rubbed the back of his neck. But Stiles knew better. The chimera’s jaw was clenched slightly, and Stiles could _hear_ his teeth rubbing together. His fingers were anxiously tapping on his thigh as he waited for Stiles to answer.

“No.” Stiles knew he was driving Theo up a wall, but hey, just because he didn’t want to kill him anymore didn’t mean he _liked_ him. 

Theo searched his face for a few moments, before scoffing and opening the car door.

“You like Liam.” It wasn’t a question, just a bluntly stated fact.

The chimera froze, slowly closing the door and turning towards the human, and opened his mouth to respond, but Stiles cut him off.

“Don’t lie, because I’ve been watching you.”

“That doesn’t sound creepy at all,” Theo muttered. Stiles glared at the chimera.

“You’re like, _always_ watching him,” he exclaimed, throwing his hands up in frustration, “You like Liam, and it’s _obvious_. So why aren’t you _doing_ anything about it?”

Theo slumped back into the seat, realizing that he wasn’t getting out of this conversation. “He’s too good for me. And he deserves better,” the corners of the chimera’s mouth had turned downward, but apparently the moment of vulnerability had been a moment too long and he suddenly wiped his face clear and put on a neutral expression. “So if we’re done here, let’s go do what we _actually_ came here for.”

And with that, Theo leapt out of the jeep, leaving Stiles sitting to contemplate the chimera’s words. His self-esteem could clearly use some work, but Stiles wasn’t a therapist, and he was too hungry to analyze the absurd behaviors of the chimera. 

So, Stiles followed him into the store and dropped the subject.

But when Liam finally realized the warehouse was unusually empty five minutes before Stiles had bet he would months later, he smirked widely before schooling his face into an annoyed expression as he walked up to the two boys who were tangled up in each other.

But deep down, he was happy. 

(Even if he was twenty bucks poorer). 

__________________________________

Jenna Geyer knew her son like the back of her hand. 

She’s been through his anger, his irritation, his happiness, his _everything_. So when he showed up one night dragging an older boy behind him saying that he would be staying with them for the foreseeable future, she knew _something_ was up.

She didn’t figure it out till a couple of weeks later, when Theo was out on a patrol with Argent. Liam was sulking, looking up from his homework every few minutes to glance at his phone. 

“You okay, honey? You seem anxious,” Jenna asked her son worriedly. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Liam breathed out, then suddenly seemed to change his mind. “Actually, no, I’m not.”

Jenna made her way over, sitting down next to him. “What’s wrong?”

“Theo’s out on patrol again.” Liam’s jaw was clenched.

“Doesn’t he go on patrol every week? Did something happen?” Jenna was confused, because the chimera’s whereabouts had never affected Liam this much before. 

“He got hurt last week. There was a hunter, and the arrow was aimed at Argent, but Theo stepped in front of him,” Liam explained dejectedly, his voice quiet and head low. 

“Honey, isn’t he a chimera? He’ll heal,” she said gently, but she was starting to piece together why Liam was so distressed. 

“That’s not the _point_ ,” Liam spit out, “He got lucky cause it was just a regular arrow, but what if next time it’s not? What if next time, it's bullets with wolfsbane? But he won’t care, he’ll go put himself in danger anyway, because he doesn’t have a _single_ self-preservation bone in his body.”

The last piece of the puzzle fell into place, and Jenna hugged her son tightly. “Theo will be fine, he wouldn’t leave you like this, okay? But,” she pulled back and looked at Liam, “you should talk to him. Tell him how you feel about it. Maybe he’ll understand.”

Liam leaned back into his mother’s arms and mumbled something that sounded vaguely like _he doesn’t feel the same way_ and Jenna knew that was wrong- she’s seen the way Theo seemed to light up whenever he was near Liam for goodness sake- but she let it go, and just comforted her son. 

A while later, when Theo walked into her kitchen after being at the hospital for the past couple of days, she took one look at his hesitant face, and immediately wrapped him up in a tight hug.

And when she saw Liam hugging Theo from behind a little bit later, she grinned at the sight. 

Because Jenna Geyer had already known. Which is why her husband now owed her twenty dollars. 

It’s been a while since she’s had a spa day, now that she thought about it.

__________________________________

Theo was tired. 

Over the last few months, he’s had everyone from Corey to _Stiles_ pestering him about Liam, and he was _tired_ of it. 

He knew that sometime over the last year, his feelings towards the beta had changed from “I’ll help you but only because you got me out of hell” to “You’re a fucking dumbass who can’t seem to control his anger, so I’ll help you” to “Why do I suddenly like hanging out with you” to “Your scent makes me happy and I like wearing your hoodies.” 

Theo was _fucked_. 

Because he knew Liam didn’t feel the same way. Or he did- until one day he caught Liam staring at him at a pack meeting. He raised his eyebrow, and watched as the werewolf blushed furiously, and one listen at his heart confirmed that the beta was _nervous_. 

And suddenly, something clicked in Theo’s mind. Liam _liked_ him. And the sudden realization almost short-circuited the chimera’s brain, but he regained control of his thoughts and simply stored the information for later. 

Later being the end of March, when he had been reminded by a cashier at the grocery store that April Fools’ was coming up, and a lightbulb went off in his head. 

He casually mentioned it to Brett, who seemed _way_ too eager at Theo’s plan to prank the beta, and soon, he was scheming in his head.

And later in the warehouse, when Liam _finally_ kissed him, Theo grinned inwardly. 

Because he _knew_. And god, if he wasn’t so _fucking_ happy that he knew.

And if he noticed the exchange of money between _multiple_ hands out of the corner of his eye, well, he’d make Brett give him half later.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading as always!
> 
> Also, let me know what other stories you guys would be interested in reading from this universe!


End file.
